The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-12-16
wAs1E-BAskEr ADVERTISING :.
Some Facts and Figure. for tho Study of Fs
eies Who Snend Their Money on Circulars.

1
Some Facts and Figure. for the Study of Fo
| eies Who Spend Their Money on Circulars
| Phil adephia Times.
This is the season of the year when the grand
| son of his grandfather ard fogy business men
| generally waste thousands OF dollars by waste
| basket advertising. They seldom advertise In
| newspapers, which now 60 into every family,
/ and are accepted by all as the legitimate medium
/ for trade to reach the people. They don't ad-
vertise because their grandfathers didn't do is,
obviously forgetfu of the fact that those grand
fathers had no newspapers or general clrcu iaton
/ through which to reach the public. A few OF
| them now and then venture in newspaper adver-
tsing, and true to their grandfathers ideas, they
hunt for what they suppose to be cheap advertis-
| ing, and they end in paying half as much for An
advertisement that reaches a few thousands as 1t
| would cost to reach ten times as many oil a much
| more thrifty class.
The strong hold of the grandson of his grand
father in advertising. or what he supposes to be
advertising. is for the waste basket He gets
up five or ten, or twenty thousand circulars.
such as his grandfather got up when circulars
were a necessity, in the absence of generally
circulating newspapers; he gets them printed ac-
cording to his fancy; he puts them in envelopes;
he stamps them with a single stamp, WHICH re-
quires them to go out unsealed; lie sends them
to the post-office, whence they delivered
from house to house, only to be thrown into the
waste basket by the servants The open circu-
lar is known to be advertisements. and from
fogy dealer, and they go their way into the
waste basket in nineteen houses out of twenty.
without even attracting the curiosity of the
servant. These circulars, if of the cheapest
kind. cost, including postage. printing and en-
velopes, 81 80 for 100; SIS for 81. 600. 500 for
TO- 000 or $500 for $40 000 and not in fifty is
read seen by the customers they
pected e. reach. The grandson of his grand
father doesn't seem TO know that for $50. the
cost of 10, 600 OF the cheapest circulars which
seldom opened and never read. would place
nearly column advertisement in the three most
widely-read newspapers in Philadelphia, where
1t would reach moro than a quarter million OF
bona fde subscribers purchasers and where
it would be likely to be seen by a full million
readers. It is thus that the grandson of his
grandfather wastes his money In waste-b basket
advertising.
Then there is another class OF the business
grandsons of their grandfathers. They are pro-
gressive they mean to advertise by circulars to
attract attention; they understand that unsealed
circulars go into the waste-basket, and they get
ND a pretty circular, seal it in the envelope, mail
it. and congratulate themselves that they have
made a grand stroke of business progress And
how does their account standl Their circulars.
including postage, printing and envelopes, cost
3 cents each: s. for 100; $50 for 1O0O $500 for
10 OOO and 5000 for 10000 The $500 paid for
1000 sealed circulars. most Of which are pitched
into the waste basket as soon as opened, would
pay for q column advertisement In every morn
ing newspaper published in Philadelphia where
by over 900 subscribers and purchasers
would be reached, and nearly a million and q
half of readers secured; and taking $780, the cost
of 90 600 sealed circulars, which seek the waste
basket, column advertisement could be put In
every newspaper in Philadelphia, morning and
evening. at the highest rates and in the best po-
sitions which would practically reach every
home in Philadelphia ami in most of the
rounding country from which trade is drawn to
city and two. three or more of these papers
would often go into the same family. Such is
the practical business sagacity of the more lib
eral grandson of his grandfather.
We leave out of the calculation the yet more
liberal and progressive grandson of his grand
father who gets costly circulars costing from
80 to $40 per hundred $50 to 800 per 1000; $500
to 81 900 per 10, 900, which go to limited circles.
and usually share the fate of their cheaper broth
rem by landing in the waste basket They
pend as uch to reach ]. 900 people. who not
reached at all except to accumulate their waste
paper would bring their business prominently
before every customer of every class within the
range of Philadelphia trade; but the grandson of
grandfather will be the grandson of his grand
father to the end, and ne will waste hundreds Of
thousands in waste basket advertising and won
der why others thrive in business while his
trade is dying out of the dry rot, The genuine
fogy who doesn't advertise at all is wiser than
the grandson of his grandfather who thinks that
because circulars had to take the place of news
papers half century or more ago. they must be
still; but the intelligent, practical, progress
i've business man who didn't happen to have a
grandfather to narrow and crib his ideas of bus
mess, takes the vastly cheaper and better col
umns of the generally circulated newspaper to
confer with the put lic and he grows in business
and prosperity because he shuns waste basket
advertising the most idiotc waste OF money.
Stop waste basket advertising; it doesn't pay.